ISLAMABAD: The Facebook management has expressed commitment to work in close liaison with the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) to combat cybercrime and offered to conduct capacity-building training of officers in order to keep abreast them of latest social media trends and techniques.

A management team from their Facebook Headquarters of Asia Pacific, headed by Head of Safety Policy Amber Hawkes and Manager Trust and Safety Michael Yoon, visited the office of FIA DG Wajid Zia to discuss cooperation on curbing cybercime, particularly to protect women and children.

FIA additional director general Ehsan Sadiq and director Waqar Ahmed Chohan briefed the Facebook team about the agency’s role in combating cybercrime. Issues of mutual collaboration and cooperation in data sharing as well as cybercrime awareness among social media users in Pakistan were discussed at length, said a press release.

Social media firm’s team offers to train local law enforcement officials

According to the FIA’s statement, it was decided that the agency would nominate focal persons of cybercrime wing in each province to liaise with Facebook on cybercrime cases against children and women.

Meanwhile, the National Assembly Standing Committee on Information Technology and Telecommunication met here on Monday.

The committee was briefed by the Ministry of Information Technology and Telecommunication secretary and Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) chairman on the Citizens Protection (Against Online Harm) Rules, 2020. However, the committee was not satisfied by the briefing.

The members were of the view that the said rules should be discussed in the National Assembly and then the same should be referred to the standing committee on information technology for further deliberations. The above mentioned rules should also be referred to the House after recommendations of the committee, they said.

The committee deferred the agenda and directed the IT ministry, Ministry of Law and Justice, PTA, NACTA, NTC and FIA to further brief the members in detail in its next meeting.

Published in Dawn, March 3rd, 2020